When omicron sent COVID-19 surging, state health officials for a time couldn’t keep up with data analysis needed to calculate the rate, statewide and for each county, of test results that come back positive, amid all the testing being done.

As of Monday, the department resumed posting full positivity rates, which on Wednesday was 9.2% for the state and ranged from 8.6% on Oahu to 18.9% on Kauai. The numbers don’t include rapid tests being done at home, and positive counts are still high, but at least this shows Hawaii cases on the downslope.

Teachers are coming back

With the count of new daily COVID-19 cases dropping steadily, it’s a relief to also see that trend reflected in Hawaii’s public schools. More specifically, in teachers’ absences that had hindered on-campus teaching that’s so vital for students’ learning.

In the school week ending Friday, an average of 1,500 substitute teachers were needed, a 7% drop from the week prior, and considerably lower than the high of 2,159 for the week ending Jan. 14. The need is still higher than the pre-omicron 1,300 average requests for subs in early December, but at least things now seem to be heading in the right direction.